


My Skin

by coagulationary



Category: Free!
Genre: Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Body Worship, Fluff, Insecurity, Kissing, Light Angst, Lots of kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 22:34:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21084191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coagulationary/pseuds/coagulationary
Summary: In between the swimming season, Nagisa notes Makoto has put on a little weight. Haruka is there to reassure him he is perfect just the way he is.





	My Skin

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another "I wrote this three years ago and am posting it here because why the hell not". One of my biggest headcanons is that Makoto is insecure about his body, and this was born. As somebody who actually does have BDD, it's one of my favorite fics I've written in a long time. YOU'RE WELCOME, CATHERINE.

The water of the pool shone gold by the time Gou blew her whistle, promptly ending practice.

“That’s all for today, boys. Thank you for your hard work,” she said, clapping her hands together.

As they made their way to the changing room, Makoto chatted aimlessly with Haruka as Nagisa complained to Rei about how unfair their teacher was for assigning so much homework. 

“Nagisa-kun, the importance of homework is to increase the educational experience,” Rei said, but Nagisa had tuned him out, uninterested. Instead, he turned his attention to his other teammates, wearing a shit-eating grin as he poked Makoto in the stomach.

"Mako-chan, have you gained weight?" he asked, and Makoto shrieked at the sudden contact as Nagisa continued to pull at his skin and poke him. Rei, horrified, pulled Nagisa away.

"_ NAGISA-KUN _! You can't just go around poking people as you please without their permission,” he cried.

Nagisa, apparently, did not see the issue. "I was just making an observation, Rei-chan."

"It is incredibly rude to say something like that to somebody!"

Makoto scratched his cheek. "Don't worry about it, Rei, it's fine. I guess I have gained a little weight recently,” he said as Nagisa continued to poke at his skin.

"Waaah, I'm so jealous of Mako-chan! I can never gain any weight! What's your secret?" Nagisa asked, moving on from poking at his body and onto stretching it. 

"Well, uh...we haven't been swimming as much, so that might be it,” Makoto said. From the other side of the room Haruka could see Makoto becoming increasingly uncomfortable by Nagisa's antics, fidgeting every time Nagisa pinched at the skin on his hips and tried to poke his navel. Rei tried to stop him but to no avail.

"Nagisa. Drop it,” he said. It was the first time he had spoken since they began changing. 

Nagisa slowly put his hands down. "But Haru-chan—"

"I said _ drop it _."

The room when quiet at Haruka’s sudden outburst, yet he felt no shame raising his voice at Nagisa. Haruka knew that Makoto could be self-conscious about his body, and with the swim season having just started he had no intention of allowing Makoto to feel uncomfortable being shirtless in front of the others. 

He began to pack up his stuff before turning to look at Makoto. "Makoto. Come over tonight."

Makoto's cheeks turned pink. "O-Okay!"

Haruka swung his school bag over his shoulder and left.

* * *

"Haru-chan...can I ask you a question?" Makoto asked this suddenly after minutes of silence. They were sitting at Haruka's dining table working on homework, Haruka having made tea for them to drink in the meantime

Haruka took a sip of his tea and continued writing. "Drop the -chan. What is it?”

Makoto fiddled with his thumbs, looking down at his reflection in the tea. "Do you...think I'm chubby?"

Haruka stopped writing, looking up at him. So that was what was bothering him. "Is this about what Nagisa said?" he asked. He watched as Makoto’s eyes began to shine, and Makoto turned away from him. Haruka went still. He couldn’t stand it when Makoto cried.

"I'm sorry, I should go now,” Makoto said quietly, his voice cracking.

"Makoto..."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Haru."

As Makoto stood up to leave, Haruka grabbed hold of his wrist. Makoto turned to look at him, seeing the genuine concern in Haruka’s eyes, as if to say 'tell me what's wrong'. His lip began to quiver and his eyes started to blur with tears as he slowly sat back down. "Haru-chan..."

The tears finally fall, rolling down his face slowly as he choked back silent sobs, clutching onto his pants as the tears plop onto his hands and trickled down the side. Haruka felt his throat close. "I'm sorry..."

“What are apologizing for?” Haruka said, gently covering Makoto’s wet hands with his own. “Tell me.”

Makoto sniffled. "I didn't want you to see me this way...I-I..." His words were lost on his tongue as he begins to cry, shaking as his sobs finally escaped. A pang shot through Haruka’s heart as he felt Makoto’s tears drip onto his hands. 

He moved one of his hands to cup Makoto’s reddened cheek. "Makoto...look at me," he said. Makoto turned to look at him, his eyes swollen and red from crying. Haruka wiped away the tears with his thumbs. "You have nothing to worry about. You're fine just the way you are."

"But...I've gained weight,” Makoto said.

"So what? You're still Makoto, regardless of your weight. Why are you so worried?"

"I...I thought..." Makoto's words were once again lost, his voice shaking as he sobbed. "I thought Haru might not love me anymore..."

Haruka’s heart stopped. He saw the shame in Makoto's eyes, the guilt and the fear. He couldn’t stand to see him like this.

"Makoto. Look at him,” he said. Haruka tipped his chin up to look at him, gently caressing his face, his lips turning upward into a rare, yet soft, smile. "Do you want to know how much I love you?"

Makoto's tears came to a halt as Haruka leaned forward and began to press feather-light kisses on his skin, starting with his temple and slowly moving down to his eyelashes, then his cheeks, and finally his lips. The kiss was sweet and chaste, not rushed as they let the moment sink in and let their lips linger. Makoto's lips tasted like salt, still wet with tears, but his lips were soft and plump and fit perfectly with Haruka's. They pulled away reluctantly, Haruka pressing a soft kiss to Makoto's nose as he pulled him into an embrace. 

"Haru..."

Haruka looked at him, waiting for approval, and Makoto nodded. Haruka pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it to the side and he began to kiss down Makoto's neck to his clavicle, and then down to his pectoral muscles. Makoto moaned as Haru peppered his skin with kisses, making sure to kiss every inch of his body, every freckle, every crease carved into his skin. Makoto flinched as Haruka kissed his navel, giggling a bit at the sensation. "Haru, that tickles."

Haruka looked back up at him, slowly undoing his belt. Makoto helped him in shimmying them off, leaving him only in his boxers as Haruka continued to make his way down his body. He kissed the trail of pubic hair along his stomach and the V of his hips, continuing to move down. He left Makoto's boxers on, not ready to go that far yet, but teased him by nibbling lightly on the sensitive skin of his thighs. Makoto let out a breathy moan, running his hands through Haruka's hair as Haruka moved downward and kissed the remaining skin on his legs. He gently took Makoto's foot in his hand and kissed the top of it, making sure to also give his toes some attention by kissing them each individually. Moving onto the other legs he did the same, only moving upward this time, taking his time, until he was back where he started and gently kissed Makoto's lips.

"Turn over, Makoto."

Makoto did as he was told and moved to lay on his stomach. Haruka inched and way back down and began to kiss the heels of Makoto's feet, kissing the soles, the ankles, and anything he might have missed. As he moved upward, he playfully bit Makoto's right buttcheek, earning a stifled gasp from Makoto, and Haruka smirked as he playfully nips the other. He placed soft, feathery kisses across the length of Makoto's spine, making sure not to miss any of the freckles scattered across his back. Makoto arched his stomach as Haruka touched a particularly sensitive spot on the small of his back

"Haru, that tickles!"

Haruka seized his movements for a short moment to let Makoto recover from his giggles and then continued until he reached the strong back muscles he loved so much. He massaged them carefully with his hands, caressing them and taking his time to kiss every inch of his skin. He did not remove his hands as he began to kiss Makoto's shoulders and then the nape of his neck, his hair tickling his nostrils and he buried his nose in it momentarily to breathe in Makoto's scent. 

As he finished, he urged Makoto to roll back over, giving him one last kiss on the lips. "That's how much I love you..."

Haruka’s face burned red with shyness; it was out of character for him to show such affection so openly. Makoto pulled away and looked at him, tucking a strand of hair behind his ears.

"I love you too, Haru. So, so much,” he whispered. Makoto leaned forward to press a quick kiss to Haru's lips, and Haru hid his face, embarrassed, making Makoto laugh.

"Do you feel better now?" Haruka asked against Makoto’s bare skin.

Makoto nodded. "Mm. A little bit."

"Good. I'm glad." They kissed again, and Haruka snuggled up against Makoto's chest as Makoto played with his hair, placing a kiss to the crown of his head.

"Are you tired, Haru?"

"Mm. Makoto is comfortable."

"Do you want to go to sleep?"

"Mm."

Makoto smiled, kissing his head again and pressing his nose against his hair. "I'll call Mom and tell her I'm staying over for the night,” he said.

Haruka buried his face further against Makoto's chest as Makoto carried him up bridal style to the bedroom. He helped Haruka strip down to his boxers before climbing into bed and curling up next to him. Haruka was half asleep at this point, but it didn’t stop Makoto from gazing lovingly at him, from the fringe falling over his eyes to his small, pink lips, and his long black eyelashes that rested over his cheekbones. Makoto constantly told Haruka how beautiful he was, and Haruka could only hope Makoto saw himself that way Haruka saw him. Makoto wrapped his arms around him, bringing him closer, and kissed the side of his head.

"I love you, Haru-chan,” he whispered. Haruka was too tired to correct him.

"Mm. I love you, too." He left his head to give Makoto one last peck on the lips before curling his body next to him, Makoto’s strong arms wrapped around him. It did not take long before he was lulled to sleep by Makoto’s steady breathing and warmth enveloping him.

* * *

"Waaaaaah Mako-chan, I'm so sorry I made you feel bad!" Nagisa cried as he ran over to 

Makoto laughed. "It's all right, Nagisa. I knew you didn't mean any harm by it,” he said, reassuring him nothing was wrong. Next to Nagisa, Rei was bowing furiously

"Makoto-senpai, please forgive us for our insensitive comments! Your body is truly great!"

“Y-Yeah, what Rei-chan said! We love you, Mako-chan!"

Makoto smiled, placing his hands on each of their shoulders. "It's okay, you two. Really, I'm fine."

"Just don't do it again." Haruka arrived at the questionable scene of his kouhais clinging to his boyfriend, sobbing. Nagisa and Rei jumped, saluting him before scurrying off to the changing room.

"You didn't have to freak them out like that, you know,” Makoto laughed.

"They deserve it,” Haruka deadpanned. He watched Makoto's smile quickly turn into a frown. Makoto reached for Haruka’s hand and interlaced their fingers together, turning to look at him.

"Haru...I promise, I'm fine,” he said. Then, blushing, “Actually, what you last night, it...kind of made me feel...proud."

_ Cute _, Haruka thought, standing on his toes to kiss Makoto on the lips."I'm glad."

Makoto smiled and leaned down to peck his lips again, before whispering against his lips, "Come on, everyone is waiting for us." They watched as their teammates splashed in the water—Nagisa harassing Rei and Rei scolding him—walking hand-in-hand toward the pool.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: this is titled "watch out for my body rolls" in my documents folder. I'm sorry.


End file.
